Piano Keys
by HollywoodGirl15
Summary: When push comes to shove, Layla is forced to make her biggest decision yet after a steamy night in the studio pushes her own personal limits as well as James'.  James Maslow story that'll make you SWEAT.


Disclaimer: Obviously nothing is owned and I only own the plot. **The rating for this will change eventually;** this is just giving people a chance to see the story and decide if they like it in the mean time :) Trust me, it will get steamy.

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><p>Hot summer heat trembled through Los Angeles, California, summer time completely in swing as the natives smiled at one another on the sidewalk. Another skateboard raced past at lightning speed, the beanie cap sweltering the scalp underneath the wool. The sun beat down fast and hard, commanding a dancing backbeat as bikinis openly strutted along after the skateboard, heels clacking noisily against the hard concrete.<p>

There was nothing more beautiful than California in the summer time as far as Laya Jensen was concerned.

She pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose once more, peering out through black shields at her surroundings. If she pushed her senses hard enough, she could hear the soft sound of the waves crashing against the beach, and the children's screams as the crabs washed up upon the shore. It brought a jolted smile to her features, listening as another boom box passed her by on the shoulder of a local deejay. She politely tipped her head in his direction, recognizing him from a local club to which he returned.

Dropping the cigarette onto the ground, she pushed the heel of her black ankle boot into it, crushing it immediately to prevent any source of a fire. Glancing around once more at the beautiful weather, she began her descent back into the studio where she would view the world from behind tinted glass windows. She looked over her shoulder once more before closing the door behind her, stepping into the air conditioned lobby with a serene smile upon her lips.

There wasn't much that Layla believed in, but the intoxicating weather of California always had her believing that this had been the best thing to ever happen to her. She wasn't one for the dramatic moving to California speech that all the tourists gave, but on days like these she didn't miss the drabby weather of Washington. It seemed that here there was a different air, and she was more than delighted to be part of the intoxicating pollutants that trembled through fluffy white clouds hanging overhead.

Her black skirt hung loosely around her knees as she made her way over to the elevator, checking her cell phone once more for the time before placing it back in her pocket safely. She exchanged no glances with the other onlookers on the elevator, appropriately stepping off at floor ten without missing a beat. The sounds of phones ringing made her cringe as her appropriate bubble busted in front of her very eyes, and she slowly pulled the sunglasses from her face. Placing them on her head, she quickly pushed past the frantic typing on keyboards and into the executive's office, smiling briefly at her boss as she took a seat across the desk.

"Max told me you wanted to see me sir?" She crossed her legs, folding her hands neatly in her lap as she gave him another smile. Her boss raised his eyebrow slightly at her positivity, but brushed it off as he placed his phone down in its cradle once more and moved a stack of paperwork in her direction. Layla reached across and received it, leafing through the papers without much interest as she waited for her boss to elaborate on the simple action.

"We have a new client for you to oversee. They're currently in studio 45A, and they're in the process of recording the tail end of their first record. They're contracted by Nickelodeon and appear on their own television show. Recently, their assistant was fired on the project, so you're next in line to step up and take control of the project. Now, they have a strict schedule and you're to keep them on it." He cleared his throat momentarily, rubbing at his already red eyes as he muttered low to himself before turning his attention back to her. "And Ms. Jensen? Don't fuck this up. They're an extremely big client and they're going to break out immensely."

Layla nodded her head and stood up, adjusting her sunglasses once before pulling the packet of information close to her chest. She listened to the sounds of her heels clacking against the expensive flooring as she headed down towards the elevator once more, the studio being located a few floors higher. As she leaned back against the elevator bar, she glanced along the files in her hands, mentally embedding names that would be useful to her later once she truly met the boys that she would be in charge of.

Pulling in a deep breath and pinching the bridge of her nose, she exited the elevator with her stomach churning nervously, her eyes lingering on the black door that read '45A' in bold white embossed letters. The packet suddenly seemed fifty times heavier, and as she struggled to remember to breathe, she took a moment to recompose herself.

She had managed the likes of smaller bands on Indie labels, never once putting herself in the spotlight as it was too much pressure for her to take on in only the mere year she had worked at the record label. But behind the door was potentially her biggest clients, and promised break out stars.

Staring at the door once more and pulling in a deep breath until her chest ached, she moved her feet forward and twisted the knob, knowing that once she took on this project her fate would be sealed.

There would be no turning back, no matter what happened behind the closed, soundproof walls.


End file.
